74 - Eugène ATGET (1857–1927)

Eugène ATGET (1857–1927) Cabaret, 86 Rue Mouffetard (5th arrondissement), 1911–1913 The entrance to a cabaret framed by fluted pilasters and railings, surmounted by a sculpted lion resting on a sphere within a diamond-shaped transom; a small “No Posting” sign on the inside. Silver print 24 x 18.5 cm Inscription on the reverse: Annotation in blue ink: “Cabaret 86 rue Mouffetard”; in pencil: “1911–1913 (5th)” Provenance: former collection of Jean-Marie Drot Born in Libourne in 1857, Eugène Atget worked as a sailor and then as an actor before devoting himself to photography around 1890. Based on Rue Campagne-Première, he produced “documents for artists” and spent nearly forty years photographing old Paris: streets, courtyards, storefronts, signs, small trades, parks, and interiors. His thousands of photographs were acquired by the National Library, the Carnavalet Museum, and the Monuments Historiques, which saw them as a record of a city in the process of disappearing. Man Ray and the Surrealists, followed by Berenice Abbott—who saved a large portion of his collection—revealed the poetic dimension of his work. He died in Paris in 1927 and is considered one of the fathers of modern documentary photography.